John w



. (No Model.)

J. W. HYATT.

EMBOSSING TooLi Patented Feb 22 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. HYATT, OF NEWARK, NE\V JERSEY.

EMBOSSING-TOOL.

EPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,039, dated February22, 1887.

Application filed January 12,1886. Serial No. 198,322. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. HYATT,a citi zen of the United States,residing in Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Embossing-Tools, fully described andrepresented in the following specification,and the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to a tool for pressing sheet metal upon a matrixof any desired form; and it consists, essentially, in a bundle of rodsclamped in a holder in such manner that the rods may move longitudinallyupon one another.

Myinvention is particularly adapted for embossing or stamping sheetmetal by longitudinal percussion with such a bundle of rods adapted toslide upon one another, and to thereby accommodate themselves tothesurface of the matrix.

The invention is illustrated herein in two forms, Figure 1 showing thebundle of rods grasped in the hand of the operator and clamped togetherby an india-rubber elastic band near each end, and a matrix with apieceof sheet metal thereon being shown below the lower end of the bundle.Fig. 2 represents a mallet embodying my invention. Figs. 3 and atillustrate the bundle of rods connected with a rotary crank to bereciprocated by steampower, Fig. 3 being an end elevation at the frontof the crank, and Fig. 4 an elevation at the side of the same. Fig. 5represents in perspective the elastic clamp at the lower end of theconnecting-rod; and Fig. 6 is a section of the clamp in line 00 w ofFig. 3,enlarged.

In Fig. 1, A is the matrix; B,the sheet metal; G, the bundle of rods,and D the elastic bands applied to the exterior of the bundle to holdthe rods together.

The sheet metal is represented as indented at B,with part of a designproduced by pressingthe sheet metal into a similar recess in the matrix.Such depression is effected by striking the sheet metal repeatedly withthe ends of the rods, the metal yielding at each blow to the exactdegree that each rod is able, separately, to overcome its resistance,and the rods sliding upon one another longitudinally to reach thevarying surface of the metal to which it is applied. The process ofshaping the metal is thus made very gradual,each blow forcing the metalinto the matrix a little farther, and each rod ceasing to depress themetal when the latter is brought in contact with the face of the matrix.If the depres sion in the matrix is deep,the metal would evidently besupported about its edges during the gradual depression of the includedsurface,the metal being stretched without injury,owing to the limitedforce exerted by each rod separately, unless it be finally stretchedbeyond the limit of its endurance. If the metal be of a suitablenature,it may be annealed during the process, as in other stamping orembossing processes; but the operation of the rods does not produce ahardness in such metal as copper with as much rapidity as in spinningsheet metal and analogous operations.

The rods may be varied in diameter to any degree from one-hundredth toone-tenth of an inch or over, according to the thickness of the sheetmetal, and I find that the effect of the separate rods upon the matrixis so slight that a wooden matrix may be used in the shaping of thinsheet-copper and a bed of type is not even injured by forming anembossed copy or stereotype of the same-by laying a sheet of thinplaters metal over the face of the type, and hammering it with a bundleof fine rods. This eifect appears to result from the slight momentumcarried by each of the rods, which, when no larger in diameter than aneedle and not over one and a half or twoinchesinlength, are too lightto injuriously affect the surface beneath the sheet metal,while theircombined and repeated impact is sufficient to accomplish the desiredeffect.

In forming a bundle of rods to operate by hand, the rods may be madeover a foot in length and the bundle to weigh two or three pounds; butfrom what has been stated above it is obvious that the size of the rodsand of the bundle may be indefinitely varied in proportion to thethickness of the sheet metal operated upon, the force of the blows whichare employed, and the depth of the desired indentations.

Fig. 2 represents a bundle of small rods clamped together by an elasticband of metal having overlapping ends, (indicated at 0,) and providedwith a handle rigidly secured to the band and projected in such manneras to form with the rods a mallet to be used in place of the nakedbundle shown in Fig. 1. Such metallic band is liable to slip toward oneend or the other of the rods, unless lined with some adhesivesubstance,like india-rubber, which I have found is capable of adheringpermanently to any desired part of the bundle. Such elastic bands havebeen shown without any metallic clamp at D in Fig. 1, but are shown inFig. 6 atD applied to the rods within a split clamp, Z, shown at thelower end of the reciprocating connecting-rod h. V W

Figs. 3 and 4 show such connecting-rod pivoted by a universal joint, 0,to a crank-pin, e, mounted upon a counter-shaft, f, above anoperating-table, g. A matrix, H, is represented upon the table,supporting a piece of metal, I, and the vibrating bundle is showngrasped by the hand of the operator to guide it in its application tothe metal. The counter-sha-ft is provided with fast andloose pulleys k,to which a driving-belt could be applied and by which it can be stoppedand started at pleasure. Vhen in motion, the grasp of the metallic clampZ upon the bundle causes it to vibrate longitudinally up and down, andthe labor of the operator is confined merely to directing it todifferent parts of the metal. The metal would in each case be preferablysecured to the matrix by clamps orby pins, as at m in Fig. 1, and thematrix and metal could thus be readily moved around upon the tabletogether to change its position from time to time beneath the tool.

In practice the table or matrix would be provided with means foradjusting the metal toward the tool, or the connectingrod It would beformed with an elastic coupling at some part of its length to admit ofits striking an elastic 'blow, so as to penetrate to differentpoints inthe surface of the matrix/ The opposite parts of the split clamp embracenearly the entire cirou inference of the bundle, and are pressedelastically toward the same by the yielding fingers n, by which theopposite parts of the clamp are attached, respectively, to theconnecting-rod, the fingers being normally adjusted, so as to requireopening to insert the bundle therein. The bundle would be previousl yprovided with the iudia-rubber band D at the point where the clamp is tobe applied to form an adhesive bond between the rods and the clamp. Thefingers a may be provided with means, as a screw, for pressing them to--ward one another to compensate for wear, or to clamp the bundle morefirmly, if desired.

From the above illustrations it will be seen that my invention may beconstructed in a variety of forms, and may be adapted to many uses whichI have not mentioned herein. For instance, the rods themselves may beslightly crooked or bent near the ends to prevent the clamp fromslipping off, and the bundle may be attached by suitable means to averticallyreciprocating cross-head, as in various punching-machines, andthe operators attention devoted exclusively to moving the matrix andsheet metal beneath it.

I am aware that a bundle of wires has been rigidly bound together at oneend with the free ends projecting like a brush and adapted to bendlaterally to a slight degree when in use. 1

Such a device may be used to stipple or ornament a metallic surface, butdiffers radically from my invention, in not operating by a directlongitudinal percussion against the sheet metal. By such lattermethod-of operation, which I have invented, each rod in the bundleoperates independently of the others, and must be held elastically, sothat it may slide longitudinally in conformity with the depression towhich it is applied. I therefore disclaim a bundle of Wires clampedtogether when operated by a lateral contact, which causes them to yieldlaterally instead of longitudinally, asin my invention.

The essential part of my invention is the holding of the bundle of rodsin a clamp in such manner that they may move longitudinally upon oneanother when pressed upon the sheet metal, and I do not therefore limitmyself to any particular means for retaining the rods in the bundle orstriking them upon the metal, provided they operate by longitudinalpercussion, but claim my invention in the following manner:

1. The embossingtool consisting in a bundle of rods clamped together andseparately movable longitudinally within the clamp and adapted to embosssheet metal by longitudinal percussion, as and for the purpose setforth.

2. The combination, with a bundle of rods, of one or more clamps adaptedto press them elastically together, so as to move longitudinally withinthe clamps, and mechanism for vibrating the bundle longitudinally topress the ends of the rods upon any opposed sub stance, as and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnes'ses.

JOHN IV. HYAT'I.

Vitnesses:

O. N. BALDWIN, THOS. S. CRANE.

IIO

